66 replies to this topic

[Louis Mr. F1]

It's not all about MS and MIKA, there's another M in F1, Minardi. Recently, they've celebrated their 15 yrs & 250 GPs, i know many people have criticized that they have no place in F1, but i don't agree with that. Minardi is truly one of the hardest trying team, they deserve some recognitions. I hope you like the pictures, dating from 1985-2000, they are from Minardi's web page http://www.minardi.it , which they've recently upgraded.














i hope with more money and resources, Minardi will be able to move forward the grid next yr. Good luck!

[Wishbone]

Does anyone know which engine they're getting next year?

From what I've heard their chassis is one of the best and they've definitely got the lightest gearbox. All() they need is a decent engine, it doesn't have to be the best, and they could be challenging the likes of jaguar and sauber. It says something for the team that one of the top designers in F1 is willing to stay with them rather than get a bigger paycheque at a bigger team.

Wasn't there also something about mr minardi selling some a proportion of the company to some south american company and, via this company, the chance to obtain a big increase in funding?

[T0NT0]

i would just love if minardi got supertecs next year. Probably would be ahead of Sauber, Arrows, Prost. No more Ford crap. Great chassis + supertecs. would be probably a decent amount of points.

[The Swerve]

Give em the Ford CR1 (?) that Stewart ran last year. That'd make a big difference to their qualifying at least.

[Pascal]

From what has appeared recently in the French press, Minardi is to get Supertec engines next year. The team is currently in the last stage of its negotiations with Renault.

[Wishbone]

I thought that there would be no more supertec engines after this year?

Does this mean they might be getting some version of next years renault engine? (pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease)

[PeaQ]

as far as I understand, Minardi will get THIS years supertec next year, moified, I'll guess...
will propably be better than this year, anyhow.

[Megatron]

The Minardi is one of the most underated cars of the year. The engine is really bad but at times they have ran with the Saubers and Jaguars as far as lap times go.

[PeaQ]

why is Brunner still at Minardi? A designer in his class could easily get a place at any team he want.
If I was Bruner I would not have still been at Minardi.

But it is good that he is...

[Wishbone]

Maybe he knows something we don't.

[PeaQ]

lets hope so...

It feels like everybody loves Minardi and wished them the biggest succes?
am I right, or is there anyone that dislikes them?

[Louis Mr. F1]

i've heard that Brunner receives several offers ie. Benetton, at the end of each year, but he decides the Minardi is the team he want to stay, and he's given himself until 2002 to see how it turns out (that i believe is what engine they will have). a Supertec engine couldn't come soon enough.

also, from my memory, every grand prix weekend, Patrick Head would spend some time looking at the Minardi on the starting grid to see what new ideas they have come up. See how much respect Brunner generates among his peers.

of the above pictures, which car do you think is the most beautiful? i like the 92 black & yellow, also the chassis shape, when look from the front, it was gorgeous!

[p][Edited by Louis Mr. F1 on 09-03-2000]

[Shellz]

I'm a great fan of the team. To me they epitomise what racing should be about: having fun without the corporate nonsense.

It would be great to see them doing better, I just hope they don't sacrifice their attitude in order to get it!

[Pacific]

Fox Sports treated Supertec as a certainty for Minardi.

Gustav Brunner is awesome and a savior for Minardi.

I'm hopeful that Minardi can get large backing from Telefonica, PSN, whomever. Marc Gene, Gaston Mazzacane, and Fernando Alonso appear to be the major runners for rides at Minardi. Pedro Diniz is a possibility if Vector Motorsports purchases Prost, but...it's hard to say. Giogio Vinella may stay with Minardi as some sort of a test-car driver.

If for some reason Mazzacane doesn't stay, it might be best for Minardi to try and get Andrea Montermini or Gianni Morbidelli. (Experience factor) Actually, regardless, Minardi could use Montermini or Morbidelli for their experience in testing for Minardi to give Brunner that much better feedback. But, Gaston Mazzacane has some experience in racing and also tested for Minardi and has this season and has PSN, so...Driver wise, the most likely and best possible situation is Gene and Alonso with Mazzacane testing. But, Telefonica does want a South American driver and he has PSN, so, it is likely Mazzacane stays as driver two. Alonso might actually replace Marc Gene!!!

It's just too bad Minardi can't have somebody more experienced racing for the team as a test driver. Minardi could be so good with Brunner and their enthusiastic young Italian team with the right engine.

As mentioned, they have the lightest and perhaps most high tech gearbox in F1.

Minardi is what racing is all about, passion. If they had a customer Ferrari engine it'd be all over for much of the mid-pack and underachieving teams. For now, Supertec will have to do though.

What does it take for the corporate world to realize what Minardi has? When will an engine manufactuer ever work with Minardi? Maybe if Chrysler (GM) ends up involved in F1 they'll work with Minardi. (Chrysler of course did have a LeMans project)

[Pete Stanley]

I forget where I read it, but the late Harvey Postlethwaite once said "Take Minardi's technical staff and give them Ferrari's budget. They'd be unbeatable."

[Louis Mr. F1]

here is something i got from the 99 Autocourse:

"our biggest shortcoming was our aerodynamics. We haven't really got the structure in place. Teh minute we have new owners, now sponsorship for next year, we will invest heavily in aerodynamics as it is 70% of the car performance"

"we have one and a half aerodynamcicists and some part timers. We need to employ more, produce lots of pieces an dtest more in the wind tunnel. We have done development but it was not that much: new iwngs, new underwing for the Austrian GP. But in a top team, you have the first aerodynamcic update for Imola, not Austria"

"if you look at the big teams, they spend nearly the same in aerodynamic development as engine development. it's going that way. Cleverness alone is not sufficient any more, you need to have the structure, the culture in place. And the money goes with it"

by Brunner on the 99 season

hope that with Telefonica staying and the extra PSN money for next year, they will start to make some noise.

Just wondering if anyone here would be interested to have a book on the little Minardi team? like the Jordan 93 book reviewing their battle over the whole season. I think it'll be a great read, with lots of new insight on their struggles, except that no publisher would bother with it.

[oleoe]

Not to spoil your party, but Minardi will not be a top team even with a much better engine.

All backmarkers (and midfielders) don't have the structure,
skills and resources to challenge the top runners even with
a top engine. Why do you think Willams never dropped below
forth in the constructors championship despite using older and older Supertecs? Because they are a top team!! They have
the right people in the right places and resources enough
to get the best out of them.

I admire Minardi, and think they could have done much better
with another engine. But it takes time (and luck) to climb
up the grid in F1. No team should be stuck at the back of
the grid for year after year because of bad engines.

I hope minardi get a decent engine next year so they can
prove how good they are. They won't challenge anything else
than the midfield anyway, but it would be great to see them
battle with Sauber, Arrows, Bar, Prost and maybe more.

[PeaQ]

Oleoeoe

I don't think anyone thought that Minardi would be a WC challenger next year, even with a great engine.
And a team develops, even if they dont have the structure, running in the midfield an upper midfield, would surely get them some structure.

[arcwulf7]

Minardi would consider it a great accomplishment to get out of the cellar as the next step, but they are looking at beating Sauber, Prost or Arrows, all with recent developments ,engines and bigger budgets, which means it is going to very difficult. Brunner recently turned a job with Jordan to replace Gascoyne as technical director. Jordan then went for Arrow's Hamidy, another highly regarded designer. You have to assume he is turning down big dollars to stay at Minardi which speaks for the esprit there. Brunner might be an odds on choice to replace Brawn/Byrne in 2002 at Ferrari. We'll have to see how strong the allure of Minardi is when and if they come calling. Minardi need some more horsepower, maybe money, but for persistance and passion, there is no stronger team in F1.

[morris]

I always wonder how the teams at the back of the grid, Minardi especially, can keep up. As the top teams improve their lap times, down comes the 107% time, year after year (well, however long the 107% rule has been around).

If this year's McLaren is 2 seconds faster in pole position, the 107% time is 2.14 seconds faster.

So, maybe the teams at the back are really doing better?;)

[Ray Bell]

I think Pacific uses the right word there, 'Passion.'
Brunner probably feels that passion and doesn't want to go somewhere more clinical. I don't blame him, money isn't everything.
He possibly doesn't have anyone around him telling him how to do his job, either...
Morris, from memory there was a 103% rule from some time in the lates sixties or early seventies... I think it was dropped on occasion, or maybe even for a time. Just when the 107% came in I don't know. And you're right about that constant improvement necessary to be in it.
Getting back to the passion, there might be enough to enable them to jump the hurdles into the top six if the right gear comes along.

[MattFoster]

I have always admired Minardi. One thing we should remember is that in the early to mid 70's Williams was the Minardi of it's era. Then they hired a good designer Patrick Head, hired an up and coming driver, Alan Jones and got backing from a wealthy sponsor, Saudia. I know that one day all the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place for Minardi like it did for Williams.

I can see incouraging signs, budget is getting there, good designer, a good young driver, Marc Gene.

Good luck Minardi in 2001


Cheers
Matt

[Ray Bell]

Excellent point, Matt, excellent.
There must be a changing of the guard one day...

[Louis Mr. F1]

after each qualifying session, apart from look at the Mika Vs Michael fight, the next thing i usually checked is where's Minardi, although still most of the time they are at the back end (which sometimes disappoints me) but when you see they are often only 2 sec slower than the pole man, you have to congratulate them on their efforts. a few years ago, 2 sec slower, you may still be able to squeeze into the top 10. So considering it's a very good effort.

Last year, they consistently managed to beat the Arrows (because it was concentrating on the 2000 car). This year, Arrows is back to a normal position and Minardi is relegating to the back end again. But next yr, when they have the Supertec, like Arrows this yr, they will produce surprise result and i hope Gene can string together some good results.

one more thing, with only four more races to go, it's getting more and more difficult for them to score a point this yr, unless something dramatic happen, ie. heavy rain, big start crash, it's likely that Minardi will be scoreless they year. But don't be discouraged, next year is the target and lets all wait and see. As Matt pointed out, it could be the first sign of a turn around for the team's fortune.

[Ray Bell]

How heartless is that ruling about having to score a point to qualify for the travelling money? Surely if they field two cars and at least one goes the distance in, say, half of the races, they should get it?

[Don Capps]

Too many forget that in all the hype and BS that surrounds the Annointed Ones, that to many merely being in The Show is an accomplishment. And, as pointed out, Minardi and the others have had to raise their game without the benefit of cubic dollars just to make the grid.

Personally, the only reason I haven't completely abandoned F1 is because some day Arrows or Minardi just might win a race... Not bloody likely, but one never knows.

Besides, the only folks that seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves in F1 are..... Ta Da! Minardi! At least they seem to be able to smile and show some true compassion. As long as there are teams like this around, I will hang in there to some extent. Toss them out and just have the faceless Big Teams, count me out. I have always had a weakness for the privateers and Minardi is about the last of the bunch that still fits that definition even remotely...

[Ray Bell]

You must have cheered when Jordan pulled of that Belgian win, Don?
Remember when DSJ wrote about a privateer team, the members in the pits during practice shouting to each other because they didn't have the earplugs everyone else had?
I think it was in a Cooper Maserati...
Remember the days when there were privateers in F!?
Why am I out of the Nostalgia Forum?

[Ali_G]

Even with Minardi's **** engine Gene kept up with the mid field at Hockenheim. I bet if Minardi had Jaguars engine they would beat Jaguar.

Niall

[Pacific]

When Jordan won I was ecstatic. I was SO heartbroken for Arrows when Damon Hill suffered mechanical problems, had he won that race, things would have accelerated for Arrows. Although, their current situation with their sponsors, de la Rosa, and Verstappen, along with Webber isn't bad for the future. Plus, there is much more to this AMT deal than meets the eye.

While aerodynamics is important in F1, I don't know. I really think the difference in horsepower, weight, and drivability of the engines is the biggest difference. Plus, some engines are far more reliable than others. Take Cosworth for example, it's a rather high tech engine and shows some top speed, but the reliability of that car and engine. The reason Minardi can keep up is aerodynamics though. Their Cosworth engines are the heaviest AND least powerful on the grid, yet how often do we see Marc Gene hounding a Prost or somebody else who's having a bad race? Often enough. Hells bell, Gene was on Alesi's ass all race at Hockenheim!!! Don't tell me engine power there isn't important. There's no way the Cosworth is as good as the Peugeot. Not Minardi's 1998 Cosworth anyway. If Minardi had the 1999 Cosworth, they'd probably have Gene out of the last row in nearly every race. Mazzacane, hard to say, he is the slowest on the grid. Brings the car home every time he doesn't have a mechanical failure though. Mazzacane is a low maintainance driver usually, as far as damaged equipment is concerned. Meanwhile at Sauber this season, Pedro Diniz...I emphasize THIS SEASON for Pedro Diniz though.

Go Minardi, Go Arrows, and Go Sauber. (I don't cheer much for Prost, although I don't want to see the team fold at all and do hope it gets things together, I just like Minardi, Arrows, and Sauber a lot more.) That's why I can't understand why everybody thinks Sauber is boring. This is a team that is based in a country where racing is illegal!! It's the only Swiss team, Sauber has some personality to it. Not as much as Minardi, but it has some.

[Megatron]

Those pictures of the Minardi's represent a lot of struggle.

The first car was rumored to be fitted with Alfa Romeo power, but instead got a well underpowered Cosworth and then a Motori Moderni turbo.

The 1995 car was orignally planned to have a Mugen Honda engine in it, but at the last second Britoire and Ligier swapped it up.

The 96 car was nothing more than a warmed up 1995 car, as Taki Inque's sponsor Unimat pulled out just hours before the season began and Minardi really had a tight budget.

The 1998 car was finished very late and very difficult to drive. The new regulations caught Minardi well off guard and they struggled for quite a while.

However, somehow, Minard have always gotten through it, and usually with most of their dignity.

[Louis Mr. F1]

here's a news article from autosport:


Minardi to secure Supertec supply

Italian team confident of customer deal for next
year

The Minardi Formula 1 team is confident it can secure a supply
of Supertec engines for next year, according to team chief
executive Gabriele Rumi.

With current supplier Ford halting its customer supply at the end
of the year, the Italian team is in need of a new power unit. There were doubts surrounding
the future of Supertec after Renault bought the Benetton team, as strong links exist
between between Supertec and the French car giant. However, Rumi is confident a deal
can be done.

“The engine supply contract hasn’t been finalised,” he said, “but it will be Supertec. This is
our only option, but it is a good engine and further advanced than the one we have at the
moment.

“We are talking to our current sponsors about budgets and renewals, and as a result of
these talks, in two or three weeks, we will announce our drivers. Our financial situation is
such that our choice will be influenced by sponsors.”

Formula 3000 ace Fernando Alonso impressed Minardi when he tested for the team at
Fiorano last November. The young Spaniard’s chances of securing a race seat depend
largely on whether major sponsor Telefonica remains with the team.

Team boss Giancarlo Minardi has not ruled out the possibility of a motor manufacturer
buying a share in his team, but he has strenuously denied that South African businessman
Ricardo Ferrari is poised to take over.

----------
it seems it's going to happen!!

[Ali_G]

I could nearly garuntee that Minardi will be faster than Prost next year. That is if they do get supertech engines.

Go Minardi

Niall

[Jackman]

As much as I'd love to see Minardi move up the grid (and I would - I wear my Minardi cap with pride during each race), I can't see it happening again next year. Why would you assume a Supertec (which is at least a year old) would move them up a grid against every other team with more recent technology? The natural opposition for Minardi next year will be:

Prost - likely to have this year's Ferrari engine.
Arrows - AMT (reworked version of this year's Peugeot).
Sauber - either this year's Ferrari or Mercedes (some have suggested).

Every other team will have a works engine, and presumably those cars will be ahead of the teams above. Sauber always start well and don't develop, but those early points get them through. Prost is an unknown, but money going into the team (plus reasonable engine package) makes me think Alain will pull his team's fat from the fire. Arrows are the dark horse, and the lack of Hamidy will injure them, plus who knows what AMT will do. My feeling is that the engine will be crap, and they'll be back to fighting with Minardi for the wooden spoon again at the end of the year, but the one thing in their favour is that they are already working on the new car – a luxury Minardi never seems to have.

The only chance Minardi will have of getting off the cellar floor will be if the Supertec deal involves upgrades from Renault as the season progresses. But what are the chances of that - the Ford they have now was supposed to come with 2 upgrades...

I get the feeling that most people reading this post were more happy about Minardi ending up ahead of BAR than most of the rest of the goings-on in F1 last year - I know I was.

Oh, and Louis, I have long held a little dream of writing a book about a year with Minardi. Guess it's unlikely to happen (unless I win the lottery and can afford to fund my Paddock Pass myself ), but Rumi or GC are out there reading this send me a mail - I'm ready to come travelling with you !!

[aross]

I always remember the early Minardi cars being considerably more compact than their rivals. They really looked more like F2 cars to me.
But if engines are the problem, maybe they should either start scouting other sources. They're never going to get out of the celler with one year old Supertec, which is really two or three year old technology.
It's a bit sad really, because when Toyota shows up, they're going to have to improve their performance or risk disappearing altogether.

[westendorf]

I love all the pro-Minardi comments as I too am a Fan of the second Italian team. I wonder what happens to those Mercedes (Ilmor) engines after each season? Minardi/Mercedes has a nice ring to it. Ciao, GFW

[Louis Mr. F1]

Jackman
hey, do you want to email the Minardi with your intention? you never know, maybe they would allow you to follow them for the whole season, and write a good insight on the team's daily work.

Westendorf,
i think the chance of a Minardi-Mercedes alliance is very slim, the main reason being Minardi is considered to be Ferrari's sister team, Mercedes wouldn't like their secret being transfered to Ferrari.
If people remember, Minardi actually used the Ferrari engine in 91, and in several occassions, challenging the works Ferrari team.

[Jackman]

Louis,

I'd love to do it, but something tells me their budget might be a little too tight to pay for a year long holiday (and some nice words) for me !!

[Shellz]

Jackman: Why not try Telefonica for some cash???

I would give a lot to do something like that!

[Jackman]

No chance of getting the cash - I'm not Spanish ...

[Louis Mr. F1]

ok, after Friday, Gene was 13th fastest, 1.7 sec slower, (i know it's only practice) considering this is a high speed track, it's still a competitive showing and the prospect is pretty good.

1
Barrichello
Brazil
Ferrari
1.25.057


13
Gené
Spain
Minardi
1.26.638

20
Mazzacane
Argentina
Minardi
1.27.468

remember this is also Minardi's home race and it means alot to them as well. Go Minardi Go

Jackman,
i know that they always serve very good pasta to their guests, sounds attractive?

[Jackman]

I'd heard that, and also they have the best espresso in F1, so there are two of my favourite things ready and waiting for me!! Plus living in Italy, brushing up on my Italian ... sigh ... I can dream

[aross]

You know, they might even get a point!

[Louis Mr. F1]

with only 2 races to go, it's getting slimmer for them to get a point. But on the other hand, they are more frequently getting close to the top six positon through strategy, just that most of the time at the end, they drop back.

and here is a incident during the US GP:


Minardi Mechanic Breaks Leg in Pit Accident

Sunday September 24th, 2000

Two chaotic pit-stops injured two Minardi mechanics - one was reported to have broken his leg - during Sunday's United States Grand Prix.

Argentine Gaston Mazzacane and Spaniard Marc Gene were each involved in one bad pit stop when they braked late and collided with their own team members.

The team blamed the wet conditions and the high speeds in the pit lane.

Mazzacane said; "I made a big mistake under braking at the second stop and I locked my wheels, running over two guys from my crew."

"Normally in the pit lane the limit is 80 kph, but in this race it was 120 kph. I think it is a little dangerous. In these conditions, with a wet track, I probably came in too fast."

Gene said: "I made a mistake on the pit stop. I did not brake at the right point. I lost 20 seconds and even some mechanics got a little bit hurt. It was wet and I was on slicks and they should have warned me."

[Jackdaw]

Lots of action for Minardi this weekend (Gaston running third for a while, pitstop accidents, car hit by beer can, etc.), but still no points. Does anyone know what the criteria is for determining which team (Minardi or Prost) is tenth and thus will receive the all-important travel money for next season?

And now there are rumors of Marc Gene moving to Prost next season and taking Telefonica with him! That's just what Minardi doesn't need.

[Alfisti]

Originally posted by Louis Mr. F1
[B]Minardi is truly one of the hardest trying team, they deserve some recognitions. [B]

Oh spare me

EVERYONE tries hard, what evidence is there that Minardi try harder than anyone else? There is this romance associated with the under funded Italian struggler. Get over it people, they have been and still are a complete failure.

Don't kid yourself either because the team owners are not just in it for the romance. They know they are sitting on a fortune with a limit on franchises. Just another money making excercise that seems to have fooled 99% of the F1 population.

[Pacific]

I doubt Marc Gene will take Telefonica with him. There have also been rumors Gene is going to get the boot regardless for Fernando Alonso and that Mazzacane stays as number two because: a. he's from Argentina, b. he's rather consistent, c. he was racing pretty damn good all weekend at Indy.

I think Prost really want to have Jean Alesi and Pedro Diniz next season. Pedro Diniz had a pretty good weekend. His off when in the top six was depressing as a Sauber fan, but it wasn't the end of his race. He needed this kind of weekend bad. It was a very good weekend in which he dominated Mika Salo.

Looks to me like Gene just might not have a ride in F1 no matter what. He'd make a decent test driver I imagine. If Mazzacane keeps staying close to Gene, and Alonso, in just a couple test is nearly as fast as Mazzacane...odds are Alonso will end up better than Gene if he keeps progressing. He's younger, he's more accomplished in lower formulae.

Spain no longer has a shortage of F1 worthy drivers though, they have three right now.

[Jackman]

It would be a shame for Gene to be gone because of lack of sponsorship, but in reality if you have had two years in Minardi without clawing your way up the grid you probably don't belong in F1. I am looking forward to Alonso getting a drive and showing what he can do - he's more along the lines of the Fisi / Trulli style Minardi drivers that I admire. Guess Mazzacane stays because the money is there for him, although it's disappointing - I remember reading an interview with him in F1 Racing a few months ago, and he seems to be the least interested driver on the grid ...

As for Alfisti's comments, you're probably right - I don't think anyone could suggest that Minardi work as hard as Williams, for example, but there is something nice about having them around - reminds us all of the days before it became a business rather than a sport. And as for making money out of Minardi, they've been trying to sell it for some time now without success ...

I think someone also asked about how they work out the 11th team if they are equal on points - I think it goes to grid positions and finishing positions - that's my memory of the great Minardi / Arrows battle of 2 years ago, anyway ...

[westendorf]

I've had an idea for a magazine called 'From the back of the Grid' only dealing with the bottom half of the F1 grid. Did anyone else like the paint job on the Arrows? I thnk it's the best. Ciao, GFW

[Louis Mr. F1]

and if the magazine was published a few yrs ago, they'd have lots of teams to talk about, ie. Osella, AGS, Lambo, Onyx, Dallara, ..... Forti, Simtek and Minardi
For sure i'd be interested in this magazine as currently, rarely any book/magazine pay attention to them.

----------------------
separate news today:

PSN buys into Minardi

Tuesday September 26th, 2000

Minardi chairman Gabriele Rumi said on Tuesday he had sold his 70 percent stake in the Italian
Formula One team to the Pan American Sports Network International (PSN) cable and satellite
company.

Rumi, who has been involved in Minardi management since 1996, said he had enjoyed his spell in
grand prix racing but he wanted to put the entire period behind him.

"The United States Grand Prix was my final race, from now on I don't want anything to do with
Formula One," he said. "I even hope I'll never watch it again on TV because it will be too
distressing for me.

"This is a really sad moment but it's a matter of giving a future to the team and a powerful partner is
required. I have done everything for Minardi, but Formula One now requires massive investments
that only major industrial groups can provide."

The Faenza-based team, which has succeeded in securing Supertec engines for 2001, will remain in
Italy and under the control of Gian Carlo Minardi.

Minardi made their Formula One debut in 1985 but have never won a race. They have not won a
world championship point this season.

PSN, based in New York and Miami, owns most of the television rights for Formula One in central
and Latin America. It is also a shareholder in Minardi's Spanish sponsor Telefonica, which has also
backed the team in a minor capacity this year.

----------

i also wonder will Minardi change their colour next yr, anyone know what's the corporate colour for PSN?
Hope they won't be blue, too many blue cars already.[p][Edited by Louis Mr. F1 on 09-26-2000]

[Glen]

What a great thread. This is the kind of information exchange I come looking for on these boards (and can almost never find).

The whole thing remained civil too (with one exception).

Is there a forum somewhere else that has more threads of this nature? I'm always looking for a source of constructive dialog.

Thanks,
Glen.